Nick Wright is calling it: there are *no* elite teams in the NFL this season. Forget what you think you know, because Wright declared it’s a “weird year in the NFL” during Wednesday’s *First Things First*. Still, someone has to be at the top, and through Week 7, he’s got the San Francisco 49ers leading his tiers, with the Kansas City Chiefs right on their heels.
The “No Elite” Reality Check
Wright isn’t pulling punches. He titled his top tier “We Know How This Ends” for the 49ers, which already sounds ominous, doesn’t it? The Chiefs landed in “Hiding In Plain Sight,” a spot that suggests more lurking power than their current rank. Right after those two, the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings are labeled “Partial Juggernauts.” For these teams, Wright’s big question is whether a single dominant side of the ball can truly cover up the weaknesses on the other. He’s talking about teams that are “true juggernauts” on one side, but not necessarily “elite” overall. Can the Bills, who might have the best offense in football, get away with a bottom-10 defense? And what about the Vikings, potentially boasting the best defense in football but dragging a bottom-10 offense? So far, it’s working out for them: they’re a combined 11-1 in the regular season.
Chiefs’ Quiet Domination and The 49ers’ Haunted Past
Don’t let the Chiefs’ second-tier placement fool you. Wright actually seems way higher on them than it implies. He fully expects them to grow into the kind of team he’ll eventually call an “obvious juggernaut.” Think about it: they’ve been to five of the last seven Super Bowls. They haven’t lost an AFC playoff game since, well, the first Trump presidency. And now? They’ve added the best running back in the league, a guy on pace to run for 2,400 yards, to go with a young defense and one of the greatest quarterbacks we’ve ever seen. Oh, and they’re undefeated. Wright thinks they’re “probably awesome” and will “only going to get better.” So why aren’t they number one?
That top spot belongs to the 49ers, but Wright isn’t convinced it’ll stick. He brought up a history lesson that should make any Niners fan nervous. He pointed to two past San Francisco teams that started strong, looked like champions, and then got “clipped” in the Super Bowl. In 2019, the 49ers started out on fire, with Kyle Shanahan’s schemes shining and Jimmy Garoppolo looking like an MVP candidate. They were the one seed, walked into the Super Bowl, and lost. Then, in 2023, they started 5-0, their quarterback was an MVP candidate, they were the one seed, and they got clipped again in the Super Bowl by the very team right beneath them in the tiers right now. That’s a pattern, and Wright thinks it could happen again for the current top-ranked team. It’s definitely something to chew on as the season rolls on.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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